Den of Shadows: Banter
by Frozen Phoenix
Summary: A more powerful Ather decides to grace Aubrey with her presence, in order to bring Jessica to Siete. Having lost none of her hubris despite the years, the conversations between the three of them are hardly charming.


**Notes: **It's been awhile since I've posted, but I've been working on this story for quite a time. It takes place in my own little setting of things, you probably should read my other stories: _Tainted, Reckoning, Simple Bet and Shifting_ so as not to wonder where I'm pulling things from. I hope I have everyone in character (it was very difficult to capture Ather, Aubrey and Jessica) and that you enjoy the story. 

**_Disclaimer:_**_The characters mentioned within this story are the sole property of Amelia Atwater-Rhodes._

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Banter 

By Frozen Phoenix

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In the early hours of the faint dawn, Aubrey had received a most surprising and unpleasant awakening. There were few of his kind, who knew of his more secluded residences, for obvious reasons. Aubrey had made many enemies throughout his lengthy existence and had found the possibility of being slain amidst slumber to be immensely distasteful. Ironically, when it came to using such a method to dispatch said enemies, his disgust was temporarily disregarded.  

The measures Aubrey had undertaken to shield his presence from the shapes-shifters and weaker vampires in the area were numerous. Yet being nearly flung from his black-sheeted bed and onto the hardwood floor without warning made him wonder if he had worked hard enough to do so. 

He brushed the thought aside immediately and lashed out with his power in the shadows around him. He sensed a presence, familiar, as well ancient and wasn't about to allow himself to be caught off guard once again. 

Less than a second later, Aubrey's power was thrust back against him and amused laughter filled the sparse room. His eyes narrowed as he struggled to remain upright. He was being toyed with by the one person he loathed even more so than Risika.     

Aubrey stared at his blood-mother coldly as she stepped out from the darkness. He had long ago severed all ties with her, due to her almost infantile weakness and habit of regarding him as nothing more than an errand boy. 

She was shrouded in the night from her hair to her feet. Her arm was still covered in glinting silver jewelry; the ruby-eyed serpent sparkled ever menacingly. Aside from the new, intense aura of power she haughtily projected, Ather was as she had always been. A shadow, a reflection of times long past and left better forgotten. 

The power she radiated was almost unbelievable, yet the fact that she deliberately did so revealed the lack of self-assurance that no amount of physical or preternatural strength could disguise. 

Smirking at his lack of reaction, Ather moved towards Aubrey confidently. 

"Child, you've disappointed me." She purred. "Begging for your life from Risika, masquerading as a mortal, entreating favors from Witches and even giving into useless sentimentally. I wonder if there is a level lower than the one you have chosen to reduce yourself to." 

Aubrey bristled, but managed to keep his voice emotionless. 

"Is there a purpose to your visit? I have more important things to do than standing here and listening to you babble on about the past."  

Ather's supercilious expression became snide. "Of course you do. I'm sure your little writer will beckon you in a few hours to bring her a fresh pen. And you'll scurry to obey like the simpering lapdog you've become."  

"The same could be said for you, Ather." Aubrey remarked contemptuously. "Rumors have an interesting way of circulating." 

"Careful, Aubrey." Ather warned coolly. "The blood you have taken as of late is nothing in comparison to that which I've been given. Remember, it was I who made you. If you decide to forget your place, I will not hesitate to tear that pretty throat of yours and spit upon any blood that may remain." 

Unable to mask the hatred that seethed within him, Aubrey's reply came through clenched teeth. 

"Any blood given to you was no doubt done in pity."  

Ather laughed again, the rich sound irritated Aubrey every time he heard it. 

"My poor, Aubrey." She spoke with mock sympathy and reached out a hand as though to touch him. "Does it hurt that the reason I've come here has nothing to do with you? Although you have provided me with some amusement, Siete does so hate to be kept waiting. Especially where his daughter is concerned." 

Ather then paused, the falsified motherly expression on her face replaced with her typical impious smirk. 

"However," She continued silkily. "If my presence causes you such _immense_ anxiety, I'm sure Silver would be more than pleased to retrieve your pet instead. He always did fancy the young ones." 

Aubrey's lip curled in disgust. Silver was the only of their kind that was considered old by both mortal and immortal eyes. No one knew precisely when the decrepit human had become the virile vampire, whose favorite pastime of feeding was drawing women to him with a youthful glamour and then showing his true form moments before he drained their blood. He often boasted that the sound of his victims' screams and the taste of their fear made the lifeblood all the sweeter. 

For once, Ather had a point. Her presence, infuriating as it was, was far more tolerable than Silver's.

"Go on, Aubrey." Ather goaded, while glancing at her black nails with ennui. "Go awaken the princess with a kiss like a good little prince should." 

The oh-so-familiar, acidic words: "Do it yourself, Ather. I am not your servant," were on the tip of Aubrey's tongue, but were interrupted by the creaking of the door.   

The aforementioned Jessica stalked into the room, her aura both deadly and disinterested. Wasting no time, she sat in a chair beside Aubrey, her calm demeanor never faltering as Ather examined her critically. 

"Well, well. Give her tiger stripes and golden eyes and the resemblance to Risika is almost astounding." Ather pursed her lips and fixed Aubrey with an unreadable gaze. "Wouldn't you say?" 

Silence reigned within the room until Ather, looking slightly affronted, turned her full attention to Jessica. 

"You think yourself to be quite important, don't you? Siete changed your worthless mother despite the opinions of the rest of us. He practically spoon-fed the desperate excuse of a wretch when she refused to hunt like us and even protected you, the child of a dead man at your birth." 

Ather's eyes glittered dangerously as she continued. 

"And how did she repay him? By going to a Witch and begging for her precious humanity to be returned. By giving you, who one only needed to look at to know whose daughter she truly was, to live among humans. And who was all too happy to disclose the secrets she should never have known to every Witch and Hunter intelligent enough to take her writing seriously." 

"Is there a point to this?" Jessica inquired, raising an eloquent eyebrow. "Or do you just enjoy hearing the sound of your own voice?" 

Her eyes widening at the taunt, Ather's voice became a deadly hiss. 

"I suppose any resemblance to Risika was merely superficial, for she has the acumen to keep her mouth closed around those who are clearly her superiors." The hauteur returned to her personage as she spared a fleeting look beside Jessica. 

"Save for Aubrey, of course." 

Aubrey snorted. "You're one to talk about superiority, Ather. Especially after going to beg the blood of the Maker to gain the power you never had. Siete most have found you the most pathetic sight to ever greet him."   

"Brave words, Aubrey." Ather admonished lazily. "But we have already tread down this path before. Enough of my time has been wasted and I fear the continued sight of you is making me ill." Ather smiled maliciously and extended one of her hands to Jessica. 

"Come, child. Your father is waiting and while I'd rather flay you where you stand for your impertinence, I'm sure you both have a great deal to speak of." 

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Staring at Ather as though she were nothing more than an insect, Jessica began to stand. It was only when she heard the familiar intrusion of Aubrey's voice in her mind that she hesitated.  

_Ather is hardly the type to lay old grudges to rest. You have Siete's memories and should know better than anyone. _

Even in its mental incarnation, Jessica's words still held their icy tone. 

_I doubt that she would disobey her "Master" so quickly, even to "settle an old score." I've known that Ather would be gracing us with her charming presence and have been expecting nothing less._

Aubrey didn't bother to hide his displeasure.    

_And you intended upon sharing this with me when?  _

_When I knew things more clearly- _

_Now, now, children, haven't you been taught what terrible form it is to speak of others when they are standing before you?_

Both Aubrey and Jessica fixed Ather with similar looks of irritation. She glared back them, her previously exemplified aura of patience slipping. 

"Enough of my time has been wasted here." She uttered darkly. "You can both converse in regard to who carries the leash once our business has ended. Now, _come_."   

Jessica snorted derisively and brushed past Ather and her outstretched hand, before vanishing. She obviously knew where she was needed and didn't bother to spare a glance behind her. 

Ather stared at the area where Jessica had once stood, her pallid face twisted into a hateful visage. Rather than instilling any form of fear, it amused Aubrey to see her in such a pathetically vindictive state. 

Perhaps sensing the beginnings of a laugh, Ather abruptly whirled to face him and wrapped a vice-like hand around his throat. 

"Enjoy this time to yourself, Aubrey." She hissed. "Once Siete returns things to their proper order, you will once again find yourself at my beck and call. My servant, my _errand boy_, the place where you have always belonged." 

Ather then released Aubrey with similar suddenness and licked her fingers where her lengthy nails had drawn blood. Aubrey glowered at her in abhorrence as the wounds closed immediately.  

"Or perhaps I may simply give you to Risika." Ather murmured. "With her fair tiger dead, I'm sure she would enjoy having a new pet to amuse her." 

Giving a final, mocking laugh, Ather then returned to the shadows that had hidden her prior. It was only after she had vanished and no further sounds lingered, that Aubrey allowed his temper to flare.  

He lashed out with his mental powers against the first object that caught his eye, in this case, the chair Jessica had been sitting upon. The ebony wood cracked and splintered with the invisible impact and thin tendrils of wafting smoke filled the air.

Ather's taunts and barbs had been irritating, but it was Jessica's utter dismissal that brought forth his rage. He had stalked her, seduced her, protected her and created her and she saw fit to act in such a manner? Perhaps Ather had been correct in her comparisons to Risika, both she and Jessica were more obstinate than Aubrey cared to tolerate.  

Yet, a part of him had long realized that something of this nature would be coming. 

* * *

After the initial days and adjusting to the changes of her body, Jessica had become all but closed off to him. Aubrey had known well of her habits of isolating herself from others, yet he hardly had expected to become a subject of such behavior.   

Still, Aubrey couldn't help pondering if it wasn't her more preternatural mindset that was influencing things. Most of their kind preferred being on their own and only formed congregations based upon necessity. He was a rare exception to the rule, of course. Having those dependent upon him usually worked in his best interest. 

While Jessica seemed so intent upon withholding it, Aubrey needed information. Since he wasn't in the mood to barter or play games, the only real source of concrete knowledge was held by the Witches. And rather than wasting his time hunting down a Triste, Aubrey already had the perfect informant. 

He had had the Witch at his mercy twice; yet let her go both times unscathed, for the most part. Her aura was tainted by his vampiric power, but he found that to be a gift in comparison to what he could have done. 

Smiling venomously, Aubrey tried to envision the look on Caryn Smoke's face when he entered her bedroom. She was most likely deemed the greatest risk to the other lines and had probably been given some sort of trial for her involvement with him. Perhaps he should make the idiotic event worth it…

Pushing any doubts aside with the memory of Jessica's demeaning dismissal, Aubrey vanished. His body and mind becoming one with the bleakness of the room around him…

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** ~The End~**


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